Page 46 - Underwater Photography (January-February 2020)

standby and then rapidly depress the power button
five times.
The MF-1 is compatible with a wide verity
of cameras from compact to DSLR using onboard
camera flash or LED flash triggers. To pair the MF-1
with your camera simply connect the fiber cord and
trigger the camera flash while the strobe is turned
on. This will program the MF-1 with the camera’s
pre-flash cycle and allow proper manual flash
triggering within your cameras flash sync range.
While Backscatter is calling MF-1 the ultimate
strobe for compact cameras I would say it is the
ultimate strobe for macro photographers because
of its size and flexibility. The strobe has a narrower
beam angle to keep light from straying over onto
dark backgrounds making it ideal for macro work.
The small strobes can be placed extremely
close to the macro port for reaching into tight
spaces. The dual LED’s eliminate the need for a
focusing light and are exactly the same angle of
coverage as the strobe beam making it easy to
properly aim the strobes. The strobes are also very
powerful for their size and when properly positioned
allow excellent exposures with any macro lens in a
range as high as ISO-50 at F/32.
Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-1
The OS-1 optical snoot was designed in
conjunction with the MF-1 to be the most powerful
macro strobe and snoot combination in todays
market.
The snoot is 18cm X 6.5cm (7.09 X 2.56
inches) and weights about 300 grams (10.58 oz)
with an aperture card inserted.
Inside the snoot is a frosted filter to soften the
light and at the front end of the snoot is an optical
Issue 112/46
Scorpionfish Eye, Aquatica A7rIV Pro Housing, Sony
A7R IV, Two Backscatter MF-1 strobes with OS-1
light shaping element. The OS-1 snoot has a rubber snoot, Sony FE 90mm F/2.8 Macro, with Aquatica
collar that slides over the front of the strobe to Macro Port, ISO100, F/16, 1/125th sec
hold it securely in place. It can easily be installed
or removed underwater. I keep the snoot in my you will get. When the strobe is fired the LED lights
wetsuit pocket when I enter the water and then turn off during exposure and then turn back on so
mount it when I find an appropriate sized subject to that you won’t lose sight of the subject.
photograph. Backscatter claims that the MF-1 strobe and
The snoot can be rotated to adjust the shape OS-1 snoot combination have the most powerful
of the light beam when using an oval aperture card. light of any strobe/snoot combination currently
The snoot ships with two aperture cards one with on the market. The snoot can also be used with
four circular shaped holes and one with four oval optional color filters for additional creative lighting
shaped holes. The holes produce a beam as small as opportunities.
6 mm to as large as a dinner plate covering a wide
range of macro, super macro and closeup subjects. Field testing the MF-1 Strobe and
The aperture cards slide through the center of OS-1 Snoot
the snoot and have spring loaded stops to hold the
cards in place at any of the four hole sizes. With the I had an opportunity to test the strobe with and
oval aperture card rotating the snoot can adjust the without the snoot using strobe arms from Aquatica
beam angle from round too elongated covering a and Nauticam. I also mounted the strobe on a small
wide verity of macro subject shapes and sizes. tripod and used it off camera with the snoot.
With the LCD lights turned on, the beam angle With the strobe defuser attached you loose
of the light from the snoot is the same as the beam about one stop of light but have plenty of power for
coverage from the MF-1 so what you see is what close focus and close focus wide angle shots with
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